Don’t know about the RAL after hearing all the fuss from others to obtain one I’ve stuck with Audioquest. Have gone from Carbon, Vodka, Thunderbird and now Firebird. It’s a truly excellent cable in that critical I2S position between transport and DAC. Currently have a Jay’s Audio CDT3-Mk3 feeding the Mola Mola Tambaqui. No complaints regarding sound quality from me!
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Well, I did order the RAL, I also read the back and forth so hopefully all has worked itself out. Will post my findings.
Never had a problem with RAL. Ordered two cables from him and received both of them in less than two weeks.
Brad probably got his act together and his stock is no longer a problem. There was a time when he was really back ordered because of the popularity of the cable at that time, and he handbuilts each cable and that takes time. It was the best HDMI cable available at that time. Untill AQ Dragon came along. It’s still an excellent cable reguardless.
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He does an awful lot of business in umbilical cords for units from Pass, Cary, Supratek and many other units with separate power supplies. Those are also built by hand one at a time and time consuming.
Can you tell about sound difference between carbon/vodka/thunderbird and firebird?
I could use all the typical buzzwords like improved articulation, transient response, extended decay, separation… Unfortunately, I’ve also made DAC changes during the I2S cable upgrade process. Had a PS Audio DS DAC mk1 without mods, then replaced output transformers twice and now I have a Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC. I never knew digital could sound this natural/analog but with tremendous detail. It just sounds like music to my ears.
As you ascend the AQ cable ladder I’d say you need to spend incrementally more for similar sonic gains. The Firebird even has that crazy dielectric bias system with 72VDC applied to the insulator material. My philosophy in general is to remove as many potential limitations one step at a time. Cables can get very “snake oily” so watch out.
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Never had Carbon, but Vodka was used for big screen in HT now. Firebird is quite a bit better in terms of sound quality, to a point I will say Vodka does not deserve to enter my two-channel system anymore.
Thunderbird replaced Coffee HDMI. I have not heard of Thunderbird, but I still have Coffee. Coffee has the DBS box, and it is actually closer to Firebird in SQ than to Vodka. It is quite a bargain if you can find one.
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The 1.25M RAL cable arrived today and I was able to get a few tracks in. I can see why it’s a desired cable and is the first silver cable I have tried that didn’t have any “glare” or brightness despite added clarity silver can bring.
It has an almost slight, warmish tone but without any dullness of a warm cable, the resolution is higher and the subtle details are more pronounced while also not sounding pitchy or slightly bright. Vocals are even more lifelike with more of a 3D seperation from the instruments…I really like this cable.
Going from a generic HDMI, to the AQ Forest, then Vodka I could hear more detail but was getting too bright and losing body…obviously they are better suited for their video tasks. The RAL just seems right, and will be very curious to get more time on it despite being cooked a little from the factory. Very happy with the RAL so far.
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I ordered a pair of umbilicals for MSB DAC from RAL last fall and, despite their bad reputation, I received them very quickly. Just lucky or they recently solved their issues?
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It is an easy cable to love. Easy to listen to, easy to enjoy.
And easily pushed aside by a Dragon.
But you don’t have to, until you do.
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